Monthly Archives: May 2017

This is the final installment of the Legislative Update for the 2017 legislative session. This installment contains summaries of select bills of interest that were signed into law in the 2017 legislative session.

LINK to full Resolution NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Probation and Parole Association supports and encourages agencies to do the following: Emphasize the payment of restitution owed to victims over other assessments, fines, fees and surcharges; Obtain and provide payment ability information to the Court at the time release decisions are being […]

Monroe County Jail inmate Albert Jones served as the day’s valedictorian, of sorts. Wearing a white trusty jumpsuit, rather than a cap and gown, he stood at a lectern in the jail’s classroom and read aloud from the poem he penned last week, called “Learning.” It details growing up on the streets of Detroit, dismissing […]

A two day seminar on Brain Injury and the Criminal Justice system will be presented at the Indiana Government Center and via webinar. There is no cost for attending. For those attending in person, there will be different types medical and legal continuing education credits. June 27 – 28, Indiana Government Center Auditorium BI in […]

Each year, POPAI provides a scholarship in memory of probation officer Donald “Charley” Knepple. Charley lost his life on April 28, 1997, while performing his probation officer duties in Allen County, Indiana. In an effort to honor an outstanding professional and to promote further professionalism, POPAI selected a scholarship that would encourage continued education […]

Indiana’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse Thursday laid out a strategic plan to combat the state’s opioid epidemic. Saving lives and expanding access to treatment are two of the highest priorities within the plan. Jim McClelland, the executive director for drug treatment, prevention, and enforcement, says it’s all hands on deck in this fight. “Substantially […]

Ask a member of the Indiana judiciary to describe former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker, and you’ll get answers such as “empathetic” or “compassionate.” And those who sat on either side of Rucker during his nearly 18 years on the state’s highest bench say the now-retired justice never let his sense of humanity outweigh […]

He says: Addiction shouldn’t be called “addiction”. It should be called “ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking”. He says: Ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking (what traditionalists call addiction) is a normal response to the adversity experienced in childhood, just like bleeding is a normal response to being stabbed. He says: The solution to changing the illegal or unhealthy ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking behavior […]

The Carroll County Community Corrections program will be moving out of a broom closet and into the lounge on the first floor of the county courthouse at the beginning of June. Although the county Board of Commissioners voted May 15 to allow the move right away, Community Corrections Executive Director Keyna Everett said later that […]

The dual goals of our criminal justice system are to maximize public safety and to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice. The system operates with five components – law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, the judiciary and corrections. Each plays a key role in the process. Law enforcement agencies investigate allegations of acts determined […]

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Six new Allen County juvenile probation officers were sworn in Thursday. Abigail Fuller, Robin Beasley, Dontaey Paige, Michael Starks, Gregory Coleman and Dallas Colley were sworn in in a ceremony at the Allen County Juvenile Center along Wells Street. The new probation officers were sworn in by Allen County Judge Daniel […]

The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to answer the question of whether sending sexually explicit photos to 16- and 17-year-olds is permissible under state law after granting transfer to a case involving that issue last week. In its February opinion in State of Indiana v. Sameer Girish Thakar, 29S02-1705-CR-284, the Indiana Court of Appeals unanimously […]

JEFFERSONVILLE — Kevin Polly said he needed to get out of his hometown and stay out. Serenity House is not in Polly’s hometown. For John Barrientes, Serenity House is still farther away from old habits, from influences worse than bad. Yet he found it, hangs on to it for dear life. “I’ll be here for […]

The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) is a network comprised of the leading associations representing 90,000-plus probation, parole, pretrial, and treatment professionals around the country, including the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI), the Federal Probation and Pretrial Officers Association (FPPOA), the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), the […]

Editor’s note: Bloomington is not immune to the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction crippling the country. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 41 people in 2015 and 2016 in Monroe County. Two brave Bloomington residents have shared intimate details about the darkness of addiction and the hard work of sobriety with the hope that honesty […]

A man convicted of beating to death an Indiana University student in 2015 is asking for a new trial, arguing that the judge should not have allowed prosecutors to speculate about the murder weapon. A jury in August convicted Daniel Messel, 52, of murder and being an habitual offender in the April 24, 2015, death of […]

Editor’s note: Bloomington is not immune to the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction crippling the country. The epidemic has claimed the lives of 41 people in 2015 and 2016 in Monroe County. Two brave Bloomington residents have shared intimate details about the darkness of addiction and the hard work of sobriety with the hope that honesty […]

It’s time for the annual POPAI Elections. Up for election in 2017: Vice-President Treasurer District 1 District 3 District 5 District 7 POPAI District 2 Representative Steve Keele is serving as the Election Committee Chair. Intent to Run Form The Intent to Run form must be sent to Steve by July 7, 2017 (postmarked, […]

Dear Pretrial Committee Members, Indiana EBDM Policy Team Members, and Pretrial Pilot Site Participants: The Indiana Supreme Court recognizes your commitment to develop and implement an evidence based pretrial justice system. The 11 pretrial pilot counties are creating the framework for smarter and safer pretrial decision making in Indiana, and their progress over the […]

Indiana offenders have found some unusual ways to get their hands on drugs while in prison. Heads of lettuce have been hollowed and filled with drugs, and tennis balls have been thrown over fences into the yards. All have led to new procedures or inspections for the Indiana Department of Correction. A recent trend of […]